PITTSBURGH — Pirates president Travis Williams gave a couple dozen reporters a tour of PNC Park on Tuesday to tout the state-of-the-art video board, the new express-lane concession stands and other changes to the stadium’s infrastructure.
New security measures at the gates mean fans can once again bring in small, soft-sided bags. The out-of-town scoreboard is back and the eyesore Pirates Charities sign, which was damaged in a recent storm, is gone.
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Everyone nodded and took notes.
Actually, we were all there for the food.
The tour ended in the lounge in left field. This was the best part: taste-testing the new concessions for 2023.
“We gave you guys plenty of napkins,” PNC Park executive chef Gabor Kovats said.
To help make your ballpark experience this summer a bit easier, I volunteered to sample everything on the new menu and report my findings. It’s a thankless job, but how better to prove my admiration for all yinz loyal subscribers to The Athletic?
To gauge the yumminess of the new offers, I needed to concoct some sort of scale. To that end, I’ve created Yums Above Replacement (YAR), a mostly subjective 0-to-5 rating in which my replacement-level ballpark food is the ubiquitous hot dog — a tube of meat (don’t ask how it’s made), bun, ketchup or mustard, relish and onions if you’re a bohemian.
Humphrey Bogart famously opined that, “A hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.” I get his point. Then again, Bogey never attended the Dollar Dog Night at PNC Park in 2019 when all the concession stands quickly ran out of buns.
Last dollar dog night this man was told that @PNCParkEvents ran out of buns……no worries, he brought his own. #supplychainBLOWS @Pirates pic.twitter.com/HtvEv8wvLr
— Old Grad (@660NHighSt) May 4, 2019
In fairness, I must point out the Pirates tried to atone for that snafu by scheduling an extra Dollar Dog Night. They held it on … wait for it … Good Friday, when Catholics (and there are plenty of them in Pittsburgh) abstain from eating meat.
Hopefully, those kinds of missteps are well behind us. Let’s dive in.
Bucco crunch dog
Where you can buy it: The Chicken Pitt (Section 127, main concourse)
YAR: 2.0
This is a step up from your average dog. The difference is, these are deep-fried instead of grilled, boiled or slow-cooked on one of those hot dog bars you see whirring away at 2 a.m. in roadside convenience stores.
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“It’s a great dog, super-premium quality, comes to us straight from Chicago,” Kovats said.
After it’s deep-fried nice and crispy (but not burned), the hot dog is cushioned by a split-top Martin’s potato roll and served with hot mustard and diced onions. Very simple, very good.
Nashville hot chicken sandwich
Where you can buy it: Chicken on the Hill (Section 144, main concourse)
YAR: 3.5
This replaces the pimento fried chicken sandwich, which was a low seller last season — every yinzer saw that coming a mile away — and was booted from PNC Park’s menu. Kovats based his recipe for the new item on the Hot Nashville sandwich served at Coop De Ville in the Strip District.
The chicken was crunchy and there was a generous amount of pickle and shredded lettuce under the bun. The thing that struck me, though, was … it wasn’t hot!
“Yeah, I didn’t want to kill anybody (with the heat),” Kovats said. “There’s a little kick to it, but I don’t want it to be an overwhelming experience, so it’s mild. If a fan asks us to make it super-hot, no problem. But it’s gonna be their choice.”
Jenna Harner from WPXI pulled up a stool next to me as I was scribbling notes, so I asked for her hot take on the not-too-hot sandwich.
“Love it,” Harner said. “The pickle is phenomenal and I like the seasoning. It’s different. When I go to the ballpark, I’m not thinking chicken sandwich, but maybe now I will.”
All-star burger with fries
Where you can buy it: Ballpark Burghers (Sections 108, 120 and 133, main concourse)
YAR: 2.5
The beef comes from Jubilee Hilltop Ranch in Osterburg, Pa., just north of Bedford. Jubilee created a unique blend for PNC Park that is 40 percent dry-aged rib eye, 40 percent stripling and 20 percent chuck.
The patty is cooked medium-well. If you want them to burn it, just ask. The dry-aged beef is juicy enough to hold up against high-temperature cooking. It’s topped with American cheese, caramelized onion, pickles and a signature house sauce.
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What’s in the sauce, Chef?
“I’m not going to tell you the ingredients, but it’s delicious,” Kovats said.
The burger was chewy and a touch pink inside. The sauce was indeed tasty. The whole package can get sloppy after a bite or two, but who cares? You’re at a ballgame!
Fried pickle curds
Where you can buy it: The Chicken Pitt (Section 127, main concourse)
YAR: 5.0
We can argue deep into the night about whether Pittsburgh is part of the Midwest or Appalachia or the Rust Belt or the East Coast. But there’s no disputing whether these delicious morsels from deep in the heart of Wisconsin belong at PNC Park.
They are the best item added to the ballpark menu this year.
Who doesn’t love fried cheese? These are delicious hot, still tasty when they cool, portable, minimum muss and fuss. This is 8 ounces of deep-fried cheddar, tossed in a seasoning that’s basically vinegar powder (which gives it a bit of edge) and dill powder (which gives it the dill pickle flavor) and served with roasted garlic ranch aioli and sliced pickles.
I almost went back for a second helping, but that probably would have been rude to the other scribes who were lined up to try them.
Caliente pizza
Where you can buy it: Favs on First (Section 114, main concourse), Favs on Third (Section 123, main concourse), and also in the upper concourse
YAR: 4.0
Caliente’s website boasts it serves “the world’s best pizza.” Hey, those are fightin’ words. I’ve found superb pizza in someplace unexpected (Gepetto’s in Salt Lake City), on the edge of the desert (Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix), in a concrete bunker (Della Sala’s in Verona, Pa.) and a short drive off the tee from Oakmont Country Club (Somma).
Does Caliente, which has seven locations around Pittsburgh, live up to the comparisons?
Oh, my, yes. Sicilian cut, thick and fluffy dough, just enough sauce and a generous allocation of pepperoni. Take it from my longtime buddy (and The Athletic subscriber) Marty Caridi: “Definitely a satisfying pie. Full of flavor, stick-to-your-ribs satisfying.”
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I have only one quibble. It’s the toppings that make the pizza, some say, and the choices at PNC Park will be limited to either plain cheese or pepperoni. That’s too bad. Even so, this is a mighty tasty pizza.
Mrs. T’s mini pierogies
Where you can buy it: Manny’s BBQ (Section 142, main concourse)
YAR: 4.0
There’d be riots if PNC Park didn’t serve pierogies. There used to be a pierogi stand near the food court area behind home plate, but that’s gone. Fear not, you can still purchase all the doughy goodness you want at Manny’s BBQ.
The ones served during the media event had a cheese-and-potato filling and were smothered in pulled pork and barbecue sauce. You also can order them without the toppings — that is, simply tossed in roasted chili powder with butter, chives and herbs — or with pulled chicken.
My ancestors in the Old Country would be horrified by the notion of toppings. I scraped off the pork to eat it separately (it was good), then dove into the fried dough.
Cherry pie funnel fries
Where you can buy it: Suites level
YAR: 4.0
These will be served only in the suites for most of the season, although Kovats expects them to pop up in a stand in the main concourse in September.
Think of a funnel cake, only served as finger-length tubes and topped with a sticky sweet cherry sauce. Taking my first bite, I had a flashback to the St. Bonaventure parish picnic at West View Park circa 1975. It’s sugary, sweet and has massive mess potential.
Hey, where did Kovats say those napkins were?
(Photos: Rob Biertempfel / The Athletic)
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